Diatonic Chords Explained
Diatonic chords are the seven chords built entirely from the notes of one key. In C major they are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim, one on each step of the scale, following a fixed pattern of major, minor and diminished. Because they all share the same notes, they sound at home together, which is why most songs draw nearly all their chords from this single family.
Learn a key's chords by playing them
The game's stages work through the diatonic chords of a key. See a chord, play it, know instantly if you nailed it. No download, no signup. MIDI or microphone.
▶ Try ChordRunner Free Free in the browser - drill the chords that live in a key.Building chords from the scale
Take a major scale and build a triad on each note using only scale notes, stacking two thirds each time. Do that all seven times and you get the key's diatonic chords. The magic is that the qualities always fall in the same order, no matter the key: the chords on the first, fourth and fifth degrees come out major, the ones on the second, third and sixth come out minor, and the seventh comes out diminished. Learn that pattern once and every key follows.
The seven chords of any key
Pick a major key and see its diatonic chords with their roman numerals.
The seven diatonic chords
Each chord has a job, described by its roman numeral. The I is home, stable and resolved. The V is the tension that pulls back to I, the strongest motion in the key. The IV is the other bright pillar. The minor ii, iii and vi add shade and are the backbone of countless pop songs, and the vi is the relative minor, the key's darker twin. The diminished vii is tense and rarely sits still. Knowing these roles is what lets you understand a progression instead of just memorising it.
Hearing them in progressions
Diatonic chords are the raw material of nearly every chord progression you know. I, V, vi, IV, four diatonic chords, is behind hundreds of hit songs. The ii, V, I of jazz is three diatonic chords in a row. This is also where the circle of fifths and diatonic harmony meet: the strongest chord movements step around the circle, and a key's diatonic chords cluster together on it. Learn the seven chords of a key and you can play in that key immediately.
Practise diatonic chords in the game
Open the game and work through a key: play all seven diatonic chords in order, then in common progressions. ChordRunner's stage progression is built around diatonic chords, and you can pool a key's chords in Custom mode. Play each on your MIDI keyboard or into your microphone and get told instantly whether you were right, until the whole family sits under your hands. Free in the browser, nothing to install.
Common questions
What are diatonic chords?
Diatonic chords are the chords built only from the notes of a single key. In a major key you get seven of them, one on each scale degree, and they follow a fixed quality pattern: major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. In C major that is C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and Bdim.
Why do diatonic chords sound good together?
Because they all share the same seven notes, so nothing clashes with the key. Most songs stay largely diatonic, drawing their chords from this one family, which is why progressions like I, V, vi, IV sound so natural: every chord belongs to the same scale.
What is the pattern of chord qualities in a major key?
Major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished, written I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii-diminished. This pattern is the same in every major key, so once you know it you can name the diatonic chords of any key just by knowing its scale.
How do I practise diatonic chords?
Play through all seven chords of a key in order, then in common progressions. In ChordRunner the stage progression works through diatonic chords, and you can build custom pools from a key, playing each on a MIDI keyboard or through your microphone with instant feedback.